Snow fell from the sky, tears falling from the eyes of angels in place of the one who no longer knew how to cry. She had no tears left to shed. They had dried upon her cheeks and left a burning feeling in the throat, a need to express the sadness that was well on its way to drown her. So many things had been lost during the hellish year that passed since the girl had been forced to grow up, so much blood had been shed that she felt drenched by it, reeked of it. Wherever she looked there was blood, layered on top of the soft white snow and dripping down from the delicate nose. It was all in her mind, but the body of the equine girl that slowly wandered through the forest remembered the feeling. She still carried the trace of the places where her skin had been ripped open, shredded and torn in order to let out that precious, horrid fluid. Soft chestnut brown dappled with gentle white was interrupted by the black and gray marks that marred her entire frame, from head to toe, from the blinded white eye to the black snake that coiled on her shoulder, marking her a slave and forever branding into her the knowledge of how cruel horses could be.

She was safe now, and free. But only in the way an exiled royalty with a price on her head could be safe or free. They would come for her again, without doubt, and this time she had no loyal kinsmen to protect her. They had already given their lives to bring her as far away from her homeland as she could come, the last dying in the snow after once again protecting her, from the horn of a unicorn who wouldn't have hesitated to blow out the fragile flame that marked her life.

The girl was disgusted by her own weakness. She was Rilosanne Ka'Adina, a princess of the realm! but what did that matter, when she couldn't even protect those who threw away everything to ensure that the bloodline survived? Maroon eye stared emptily into the snowfall, barely registering that her feet stopped moving and left her standing there, unsheltered and shivering beneath the open sky. Her thoughts inevitably strayed back to that moment, that horrible second when the lights in her friends eyes went out and left her alone in the company of strangers, stranded in a strange land so much colder than her own. She was so ill equipped to deal with the climate of this northern realm, after leaving the warmth of her forested country only weeks ago. They had traveled too quickly, hunted and unable to stop, pressing themselves onward even though their legs gave in and lungs burst. Even now, days after the even she still hadn't recuperated, skinny and worn as she was after months and months in captivity. Scabs coated the more recent wounds, yet unhealed by the passing of time.

Maybe it would have been better to follow the three strangers. Those who aided her when everything seemed lost. The colt with the canine, and the blind lady with her protector. She could have, but something stopped her from following in their tracks, and once she had been overcome with a fear of the woods, of loneliness and hunger, it was too late. Blown away by the wind and the snow, eaten up by the forest itself perhaps, the tracks were gone and the filly too inexperienced to be able to follow the scents. There had never been a need for her to know. She had been trained in the art of politics, in arts and welfare. She knew how to survive a bad year by storing crops and portioning it out to the people, leaving them hungry but alive. She knew the history of her ancestors all the way back to the foundation of the nation, she could recite the laws of the Arcane Arts by heart and knew from birth that she too possessed the ability, that it resided deep within the blood, in her genes, and had only to be awakened. She knew all of that, but not how to reclaim a country overrun with rebels. Not how to fight in order to save her own life and the lives of those around, and she knew nothing of survival in a woodland so different from those of her home.

And she never knew how lonely it could be, to stand still in the middle of nowhere as snow slowly covered the back, second by second draining away the warmth from the blood. It was a shame she couldn't cry anymore, perhaps that would have eased the numbness within. But as it were, she could only stand and watch, only slowly contemplate the shape of a stranger marked by fire that came into view. The wings on his back shocked her, caused a gracefully shaped eye to widen. Then her ears slowly turned backwards as suspicion pushed away all other thoughts from within, remembering the deeds done by those who were different from herself and her people. Strangely formed foreigners, welling in and destroying, shedding blood and disturbing the peace. Disgusting traitors standing over the bodies of her slain parents, laughing as blood dripped from their horns and into the grinning mouths, mixing crimson with slobbering drool.

She would never trust a unicorn again, never be comfortable around those who differed from herself.

She had hoped that he would choose to simply walk by, ignore her presence and carry on with his own business. A chance meeting in a deserted wasteland must be too much of a curiosity to let pass however, because not only did the malformed stallion approach her, he even spoke. The accent was foreign to her, but the words somewhat understandable; different though, too different for her taste.

"I should think so" she replied shortly, eyes locked on the wings that folded against his gilded sides. "Seeing as I haven't been here - wherever here is - for long. Nor do I intend to stay." It was none of the misshapen strangers business, but Rilo felt a need to clarify that this desolate place by no means was her home. Not for the first time she thought back on the well organized settlements of Belkina Aranya, the enormous trees with branches wide enough to walk on. The homes carved into the massive trunks, the squares where water and sweet fruit was provided by eager merchants and foals ran laughing through a quietly murmuring crowd. She thought of the academies where the Art was taught to those with the gift, the rest offered education in history, writing or labor, all to walk a path of scholars or laborers that all had their place in the well structured society.

A faint sigh slipped from the freckled lips, and with a sideway glance she took a closer look on the foreigner. Or maybe she was the foreigner now? The thought was strange, and would have to be processed further at a different time.
He was decidedly a strange creature. Time and again her eye trailed down to the shoulders where the feathered appendages rested, tucked away and useless. Would they carry him, if they unfurled and started to beat? She thought of lifting off the ground, suspended in the air with nothing beneath the feet - a shiver ran across the skin and the filly had to look away, disturbed. What if he fell?

"Why are you here?" she blurted out, unable to control the tone of her voice. The words came out blunt and rude, almost making her grimace; her mother would have scolded her if she ever heard a tone like that being used, her father would have frowned and sent her off to cool her head before continuing the conversation... Sadness washed over her at the thought. They were no longer there to teach her manners. She'd never see their faces again, and the precious memories of a time she once thought would last forever had been tainted with an image of blood and death.

Life would never be the same again.

A mixture of annoyance and pity passed over her face, before she forced herself to look indifferent. He was like her then. Homeless, pathless, without meaning or purpose left in this world. What good was a princess without a nation to protect, without a people to care for and look after? Only a name, an idea, a broken wheel rolling down a hill on its own, bound to break when hitting dead bottom. Wheels don't run uphill. It takes a combined effort to bring back someone who'd fallen so far, and there was no one left to guide her.

They had already given their lives so that she might continue to exist.

A small, chiseled ear hesitantly folded forward, listening to the voice of the malformed stallion. When they were simply standing like this he didn't seem very dangerous, but appearances could be deceiving. Who knew what he might do, if she came too close, allowed him to slip in beneath her protective barriers.
He spoke, noticing her obsession with the wings and questioned her about it, spreading the appendages wide to each side. The sand-colored princess immediately flipped the ears backwards again, snorted in distress and stumbled backwards on numb legs, startled and wary. He was large, so much taller than her already with a strong and able body, and against her slight built and lithe frame he seemed massive, imposing... Frightening.

"P..Pegasus?" she stuttered, struggling with the word that she'd never heard before, uttered in a strange accent that she still had difficulty understanding sometimes. "No, regular... What do you mean? I am who I am, I'm the normal one here!" Struggling to hide the unease that churned in the gut the girl spun around on the rear legs before quickly walking away, her back against the stranger. It was the regal stride befitting large halls, glittering thrones and masses of bowing people, and came not so much from the arch of the neck and the gleam in the eye as it was inbred. A complete knowledge of her own worth, the weight of history and responsibility all but visible on the slender shoulders. It was a tattered dress, stained by blood and ripped, but it was the only one she had. Now she would use it, to depart from this horrible being who seemed to want something from her even though it wasn't spoken in words.

It was unfortunate that she had nothing left to give.